So yesterday I was a bit tired but we got groceries and other things done as well as claimed a free couch for some friends of ours that just got done with their Habitat for Humanity home. The dedication was today. We're bringing the couch over there tomorrow.

Today I had a headache for part of the day after the house dedication ceremony for the aforementioned friends. (I took the time to sneak into the basement and bless the house while no one was looking.) When we got back I took some Ibuprofen and laid down.

After a nap mostly cleared that issue up, I went down in the 'cave and completely rearranged things so that there was more central floor space as well as better organization. I set up a spare bookshelf we had and that seems to have found a good place down there. My biggest problem down there is moisture. I really need to get concrete sealer or paint and seal the walls down there. That darn stuff is about $35 a gallon though minimum so that's not happening any time soon. Best I can do is protect anything that's a wood item down there and keep good airflow going.

I need to find a spot out in the garage or shed for the window A/C units that are down there as well as the two 30 gallon plastic water containers that need to be emptied and cleaned out. (The water has long since become contaminated. I have to empty and bleach the containers if I want to use them again.) The one chair has to go unfortunately. The base is the one from the "chair of death" and is metal but needs repair so I might just discard the chair pieces but keep the base.

Not sure if my existing ugly couch is going to fit down there or not. I think it might just be a bit too long. And until the moisture issue is taken care of I'm pretty sure I don't want it down there anyways.

I think I'll probably pick up a couple of bags of kitty litter. I can easily scatter that around the base of the walls and it'll certainly keep the moisture down until I can find a permanent solution. I really need to seal, frame, and insulate the walls but that is likely not happening this year due to money and time. It looks like I will be able to at least get the second UPS unit down there soon and the final server out of the garage. That means the rack will be empty and could be dismantled enough to get down there. Time will tell on that one though.

AND I still have 230 retaining wall blocks to arrange outside. I've decided that some of them will be laid flat in the back yard on top of landscaping fabric. That will give me a place to park my boat so that it doesn't take up a space in the driveway.

The rest will likely become a small patio area just outside the back door. That will keep the grass out from under the grill and give us an actual place for our patio table and chairs.

Anything left will be used to outline the culverts in the front yard so they stop filling in with grass which means I need to trim them all the time.

These are all of course not the ideal usage for trapezoidal shaped retaining wall blocks but quite frankly they were free and I have decided to use them creatively. ;-)

All that said I've decided to stop answering my phone for a while unless it's an emergency of some type. People won't like that of course but frankly I'm getting a lot of calls from people lately and getting less done because of it. So if you really want to talk to me please leave me a message.

Don't be too put out if it takes me a day to call you back though. There's a lot going on right now. ;-)

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Pro-tip, ordinary PVA glue works pretty well as a concrete sealant, although you've got to let it down a bit with water, about 3:1 pva/water and it helps to damp the concrete down first. It's water soluble but once it dries it isn't.. [polymerisation reaction you see.]

I wonder if your local recycling center has a free paint offer? Some communities accept leftover paint from individuals/companies, and let people have it for free.

Sometimes they will mix all the leftovers of the same type, generally resulting in a blah beige color, but even if they do, who'd care when it's just to seal concrete? (And if they have concrete sealing paint leftovers they probably don't bother mixing it, I wouldn't)